Red Cross Armband orin=ginality help please

[Rescue190]

I picked up an armband stated to be heer army armband. No markings or tags. Only going by the cloth and the stitching. It looks good to me but am looking for help on originality and to why no markings or tags. Un-issued therefore not accepted? Any help is appreciated.

John O.

[bigmacglenn]

The Stitching on the Red Cross is consistent with the original period armbands that I've seen...I'd give it a cautious but optimistic "Thumbs Up", lol...
cheers, Glenn

[BOB COLEMAN]

I agree with Glenn. Unless issued through a Red Cross agency, I would not expect to see any markings on one of these.

[kc1]

At the risk of putting my head in the lions mouth i understood that the armbands had to be stamped, by a unit, red cross or DRK etc, to make them official. On paper at least if you had an official red cross armband then if taken by the opposing forces you were entitled to special consideration in that you werent treated as a normal pow. I dont think you could wander off at will but the theory was that you were left to get on with red cross duties, this was part of the Geneva convention setting out the rights and responsibilities of captors and captured. This i believe explains why a lot of German troops are photographed after capture wearing red cross arm bands, living in hope.

[Rescue190]

Thanks for the replies. The condition also fits with not being issued thus not stamped. There are not a lot of fakes since the red cross armbands are not worth very much to start. A stamp would have increased the value but this will display well. I just do not want to display repro items.

John O.

[BOB COLEMAN]

At the risk of putting my head in the lions mouth i understood that the armbands had to be stamped, by a unit, red cross or DRK etc, to make them official. On paper at least if you had an official red cross armband then if taken by the opposing forces you were entitled to special consideration in that you werent treated as a normal pow. I dont think you could wander off at will but the theory was that you were left to get on with red cross duties, this was part of the Geneva convention setting out the rights and responsibilities of captors and captured. This i believe explains why a lot of German troops are photographed after capture wearing red cross arm bands, living in hope.

I am furious as to where you sourced this information. My opinion is based on seeing many examples over 60 years of collecting. The majority I have seen have no eigentum stamping. The military would certainly not stamp armbands used in combat with unit numbers for security reasons. So what kind of stamps do you say were put on these armbands?

[bigmacglenn]

I contend that this is unissued stock...I've seen stacks of these bundled together with string and unstamped...
The DRK & plain Red Cross Armbands issued to Civilians are often encountered with stamps denoting the local issuing agency...
cheers, Glenn

[HPL2008]

Article 41 of the Geneva Convention of 1949 (or properly, the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field) says:

"The personnel designated in Article 25 shall wear, but only while carrying out medical duties, a white armlet bearing in its centre the distinctive sign in miniature; the armlet shall be issued and stamped by the military authority.
Military identity documents to be carried by this type of personnel shall specify what special training they have received, the temporary character of the duties they are engaged upon, and their authority for wearing the armlet."

Whether the armband being stamped was already expressly required prior to the 1949 treaty, I do not know; but it was certainly common.